Vol Walker Hall Renovation, Addition Project Lauded by American Institute of Architects

Photo Submitted

A computer rendering shows the northwest corner of the Steven L. Anderson Design Center and Vol Walker Hall. (Image courtesy Marlon Blackwell Architect)

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The American Institute of Architects has recognized a building project on the University of Arkansas campus for its use of innovative design technology.

Architects for the renovation of Vol Walker Hall and the addition of the Steven L. Anderson Design Center, home to the Fay Jones School of Architecture, used “building information modeling” to design the project. Design firms working on the project are Marlon Blackwell Architect, lead architect, and Polk Stanley Wilcox Architects, associate architects.

Blackwell is a Distinguished Professor and head of the architecture department in the Fay Jones School of Architecture as well as an AIA Fellow.

The project, now under construction, won a Building Information Modeling Award from the AIA for Exemplary Use of BIM in a Small Firm. This is one of three national AIA awards Blackwell’s firm will receive this year, the most his firm has won in a single year. The AIA awards will be handed out during the national convention, held this week in Washington.

Building information modeling is a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a building. The design firms for this university project used Autodesk Revit software for architectural design. The consultants on the project used parallel Autodesk Revit software for their fields – such as structural engineering and mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering.

“Each specific group within the team essentially builds the project in the computer three-dimensionally before you go out and build the project physically,” said William Burks, intern architect at Blackwell’s firm. Burks is managing the “integrated project delivery” for the renovation and addition. The phrase “integrated delivery project” means the architects involved the contractor, Baldwin & Shell Construction Co., with the project from the beginning of design and worked collaboratively through the process.

Designers also obtained the original architectural drawings for Vol Walker Hall and inserted those into the software, then created renovation plans from there.

“It gave us a fully navigable and realistic model that we could interact with and better understand what was going on with the project,” Burks said. “It allows you to remove any mystery.”

When Burks graduated from the Fay Jones School in 2009, he caught the tail end of primarily two-dimensional production. When designing with two-dimensional drawings, a change made on a plan doesn’t automatically transfer to other renderings, like elevations or sections. Three-dimensional computer design allows designers to see “the exact changes you’re making made live. There’s nothing that can hide from you at this point,” Burks said.

The software allowed them to better plan the demolition phase of this project – the removal of the old stacks from the period when the building was the University Library – and then incorporate new design ideas for the renovation and addition.

Inputting the three-dimensional model into Autodesk Navisworks software also allowed contractors to assess quantities of materials needed and see detailed construction phases of this complex project. They could manipulate the images and pull out three-dimensional models of specific assemblies, such as the mullions that hold the glass panels in place for the nonstructural “curtain wall” on the west side of the addition.

“It’s much easier to see things in three dimensions. That’s how we all interact with the world,” Burks said.

Working with an outside consultant, Blackwell’s firm also created a cloud computing solution to allow the associate architecture firm to tap into their computer files.

The AIA jury said this about the Vol Walker Hall project: “This firm took on BIM and pushed the rest of the players into using it for first time use. There is a wonderful integration of nicely done renovation with new construction. We enjoy how it uses BIM to help model construction phasing and also the use of cloud computing to support and enable collaboration.”

Building information modeling has become a big part of how firms do projects, and it’s the sole method Blackwell’s firm uses.

“It’s cutting-edge, and it suggests that we’re working in a very progressive way to provide the best delivery for clients and users,” Blackwell said. “It’s a great way to develop a more holistic relationship between all the systems and all the different disciplines that are involved in the making of an architectural work.”

Blackwell’s Fayetteville-based firm also won a Small Projects Award for St. Nicholas Antiochian Orthodox Christian Church in Springdale, which was transformed from a metal shop building. This recognition is for works “that are deemed to be architecture in the fullest sense of the word, but are just small,” Blackwell said.

Jury members said this about the church: “This renovated metal box proves that the most refined solutions may come from unlikely places. Using industrial materials, characteristic of this region, the designers turned the project into a most convincing and beautiful solution that looks as if it had been there for years. Compliments.”

Blackwell’s firm and the UA Community Design Center have also both won national Honor Awards from the AIA.

The Ruth Lilly Visitors Pavilion, designed by Blackwell’s firm, won an Honor Award for Architecture. According to the AIA website, the Honor Awards for Architecture program “recognizes achievements for a broad range of architectural activity to elevate the general quality of architecture practice, establish a standard of excellence against which all architects can measure performance, and inform the public of the breadth and value of architecture practice.” This is the firm’s first national AIA Honor Award for Architecture.

As Blackwell’s first national public building, the pavilion is located in 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art and Nature Park at the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

“Fayetteville 2030: Transit City Scenario,” a design by the Community Design Center, won an Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design. The center is an outreach program of the Fay Jones School.

The Regional and Urban Design Honor Awards “recognize distinguished achievements that involve the expanding role of the architect in urban design, regional and city planning, and community development,” according to the AIA website. “The awards identify projects and programs that contribute to the quality of these environments.”

Stephen Luoni, director of the center, is also a Distinguished Professor and the Steven L. Anderson Chair in Architecture and Urban Studies in the Fay Jones School. This is the center’s ninth national AIA Honor Award for Regional and Urban Design.

In addition, Blackwell’s firm will receive two Gulf States regional AIA awards, for the Indianapolis pavilion and for the museum store at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville. These will also be presented at the national convention.